MIAMI (AP) — Nearly 800 people have signed up to hunt Burmese pythons on public lands in Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is holding a month-long “Python Challenge.” Officials are offering cash prizes to whoever brings in the longest python and whoever bags the most pythons.

The hunt ends at midnight Feb. 10.

The Burmese python is an invasive species that experts say is decimating native wildlife in the Florida Everglades. Florida currently prohibits possession or sale of the pythons for use as pets. Federal law bans the importing and selling the species.

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For the first time, the public is joining licensed hunters in the search for the snakes. Officials hope the competition will help rid the Everglades of the invaders.

Live cannon round

NEW YORK (AP) — An 18th century cannon was found loaded with gun powder and a cannon ball during a routine cleaning at the Central Park Conservancy.

Residual gun powder was spotted after a piece of rust was removed from the cannon, exposing the cannon ball, New York City Police said. Authorities were summoned to remove the gun powder and make the cannon safe for public display. The cannon came from a British Royal Navy Ship, the HMS Hussar, circa 1763 to 1780.

“We silenced British cannon fire in 1776 and we don’t want to hear it again in Central Park,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

Packing material, gun powder and a cannon ball are occasionally found inside cemented cannons when they are X-rayed during routine cleaning. A spokeswoman for the Central Park conservancy had no comment.

Hamburger logo

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The city manager in Henderson, Nev., says he wants to update the city’s logo after it was mistaken for a hamburger.

Jacob Snow tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal the logo is too detailed to reprint clearly on small items such as business cards. He also says he doesn’t like the image’s saguaro cactus, which is not native to the Mojave desert.

The circular logo was adopted in 1993 and features a mountain range, a lake, buildings and a golf course through the middle. City spokesman Bud Cranor says the more than 14 different colors on the image make it difficult to replicate.

Snow announced in August that he wanted to change the logo but says he wants to phase it out over time to keep costs down.

Wrong dads

JOHNSTOWN (AP) — About 500 new Pennsylvanians will get the wrong answer to the question “Who’s your Daddy?” if they rely on their misprinted birth certificates.

The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reports that a computer glitch caused the problem when the state Division of Vital Records recently transitioned to new records software.

Spokeswoman Holli Senior says the problem affected about 500 birth certificates. The software was supposed to pull the fathers’ names from state records, but wound up pulling information from other areas of the birth records so the fathers’ names were incorrectly printed on the birth certificates.

The state’s permanent, computerized birth records are correct, however. Those with bollixed birth certificates have received a letter explaining the mix-up and instructions on how to get a corrected copy.